I often get emails from people young and old about getting prepared for military training, and also from veterans who want to be in the shape they used to be when they served in the military. Here is a list of just a few of the many former military officers and enlisted who train civilians to not only lose weight and get healthy, but prepare for military training too. If you are a veteran in the fitness business, send me a paragraph and link of what you do and I will add to this page.
Military Fitness programs are popular. In fact, many former military personnel of all ranks and services are now getting into the fitness business - myself included. Check out the list of veteran-owned fitness businesses around the country:
Boot Camp Fitness, Inc. -- Created by former Army sergeant, Jay Johnson of Dallas TX, who has become the Official Fitness Trainer of The Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders (Enough said! THAT is a success story in the fitness business!). He has been featured on many television shows and magazine publications for his creative workouts that yield great results.
Brad Haag of Haag's Athletics provides online personal training and endurance coaching to anyone, anywhere in the world. As certified personal trainer, triathlon coach, and Naval security veteran Brad specializes in working with endurance athletes (triathletes, cyclists, runners) and "warrior class" athletes meaning individuals involved obstacle races, police, military, etc. If you have fitness goals that you want to achieve please contact Brad via the following link and he will certainly help you out.
CPT SMASH FITNESS - Jess “Captain Smash” Howland graduated from Oregon State with a BSc in Exercise Science, got certified by the National Sport and Conditioning Association (NSCA-CSCS) to be a certified strength coach, and became one of the top selling personal trainers at Gold’s Gym. Over the past 13 years, Captain Smash was a member of the US Armed Forces, in the constant personal pursuit of optimal human performance. As a personal coach, his focus is on resistance training, running, sprinting, dragging and pushing heavy objects, cycling, hiking and all those other crazy activities that most people regard as insane.
Hostyle Conditioning - With the help and support of Curd Hos, Owner and Operator of the best training facility in Orleans, Ontario—Curd is helping CPT Smash take the youth strength coaching platform by storm, as well as developing ongoing programs for older adults to help increase the awesomeness within Ottawa, CA. The youth program engages kids as young as 9-13 years old in our bootcamp style training, that will help them move better, get stronger and enhance their overall level of conditioning far beyond what the other kids are able to achieve nowadays. The upper level athletes (15-20+) are slotted into semi-private training sessions to really focus on certain performance goals for their sports in order to make them super tough athletes that are unstoppable on the field, ice or track!
ElijahSacra.com - A 360 ° APPROACH TO HOLISTIC HEALTH AND WELLNESS TRAINING & EDUCATION. RESULTS FROM EVERY ANGLE.
Holistic Nutrition & Health Coach | Functional Movement Systems Professional | Personal Trainer | Yoga Teacher Executive & Corporate Wellness Coach | Tactical Strength & Conditioning Facilitator | Personal Defense Instructor
Elijah is a United States Marine Corps Veteran, a career health and wellness practitioner, trainer, and educator. He has worked extensively with private clients, teams, military and law enforcement, executives, and in corporate wellness. His services are targeted to the beginner all the way to the elite athlete, in addition to special populations. These include amputees, the blind, cancer patients, and those who suffer from chronic illness and injuries. Elijah’s philosophy and methodology is grounded in Postural Alignment, Breath Connection, Mindful Functional Movement, and Holistic Nutrition. Utilizing his knowledge of human performance, wellness, holistic nutrition, and health coaching as a blueprint, he guides his clients to achieve optimal wellness and become their own guru.
Extreme SEAL Experience - Former SEAL Don Shipley puts on a great training program complete with shooting, survival, mission planning training in the Chesapeake VA area. See his youtube channel for great footage of the training they put on for civilians and wanna-be's.
The Health Colonel -- Bob Weinstein, LtColonel, USAR, (ret.) can be found on the beaches of Fort Lauderdale, FL conducting early morning workouts with his students. Training many out of shape and overweight people per year, he also prepares young men and women for the physical demands of the military. If you are looking for a motivational/health speaker, The Health Colonel is your man. He motivated me by telling me that “the United States has enemy soldiers within its borders -- they kill more than 3,000 people a day, their names are cancer, heart disease, and stroke.” I immediately responded, “yeah and over 20 million people are being held hostage by diabetes in America.”
MMA in Bowie MD - head coach Charles Cherry - Coach Cherry is an Army veteran who wrestled on the All-Army team and is a current special agent w/ DHS. Bowie MMA offers Cardio Kickboxing, Muay Thai, Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, Judo and boxing instruction in Bowie, Maryland. Veteran discounts are available. http://www.MMAofBowie.com
NavySEALs.com, SEALFIT.com, UnbeatableMind - Mark Divine has evolved into a fitness / mental toughness powerhouse. His programs / store enable any fitness enthusiast, SpecWar candidate pick and choose what he needs to make himself better - mentally, physically, and more. For gear, books, ebooks, training, hellweek simulation, etc.
Owen Richardson - NeoLife: I'm an active navy reserve IS1, I promote the neolife club products for two reasons: when i was deployed to Iraq in 09-10, I saw you guys (SPECOPS) everyday with tons of energy. Last year I was talking with Chris (SEAL Team 8) and he told me this was the same vitamins they took day after day. I started on it without promoting for 3 months, once I saw the benefits personally, I started telling everyone about it. They have different products for different lifestyles, and at a reasonable price. A months supply of vitamins or weight loss shakes will run about $40
Platoon Fitness.com – The folks at Platoon Fitness located in Philadelphia PA and throughout Pennsylvania and New York City was founded by Todd Scott, a Navy veteran. They have been in business for over 10 years and have indoor and outdoor training facilities with over twenty fully certified trainers who train everyone from working men and women, stay at home Moms, and kids too. They also offer franchising opportunities and training for instructors.
The Sergeants Program -- Patrick Avon opened one of the first military group training businesses in the U.S. Patrick is a former Navy enlisted man who has created a military fitness empire in the DC/Virginia area, catering mostly to overweight executives -- he also gets several students per year who seek a career in the military. He has over 45 instructors in 35 locations, all certified with a nationally recognized program. He also has his own outdoor boot-camp certification program. Check out his site for his annual Jolly Fat Man’s run/party.
The SEAL PT Course -- Jack Walston -- former Navy SEAL in Houston TX and Central Park Manhattan NYC -- has been doing SEAL PT for over a decade. He has weekly workout plans for locals as well as a SEAL Training/Special Forces mini-camp that will test you to your limits. This program actually mimics many of the events experienced in Hell Week at SEAL Training, including a 24 hour non-stop period of training.
CrossFit Reality - Founded by two veterans, former Army and Navy veteran Paul Amato and former Marine Sgt. Nelson Rivera located in Long Beach CA. Along with being veteran owned they employ veterans like former Marine Recon Adam Denton as a vital part of the coaching staff. At CrossFit Reality we take pride in training and teaching our clients, specifically those with service in mind to excel in the physical training programs they will undergo while being in military training, law enforcement officers, and fire academies.
CrossFit Santa Monica was founded by Navy SEALs Kaj Larsen and Carter Gaffney, long time CrossFitters who know what it takes to succeed at the highest levels of physical and mental performance. All aspects of the CrossFit Santa Monica program were designed specifically to help our members achieve their health and fitness goals regardless of their level of experience. Whether you are a seasoned athlete that is looking to take your physical performance to the next level or if you are taking your first CrossFit class, there is a home for you at CrossFit Santa Monica.
CrossFit Xiphos (www.crossfitxiphos.com) is owned and operated by Darrin Ingram CW4 USA retired. CrossFit Xiphos is an out of the box minded crossfit affiliate and Spartan Group X training facility located in Huntsville, AL training everyone from school teachers, first responders, military to extreme endurance athletes. Darrin trains athletes locally at his facility and abroad through wilderness fitness camps and distant personal training.
SEALGrinderPT.com - Brad McLeod is a former Navy SEAL and lives in the Atlanta GA area. Despite having no athletic background and having life long asthma Brad climbed his personal Mount Everest and made it through BUD/S the second time and went through Hell Week twice. Training Philosophy for Spec Ops: Our philosophy on workouts is to try to keep as many functional movements as possible that have carry over to your day to day sport or occupation. SEAL grinder PT is dedicated to working out and improving your mind and body to unleash the inner warrior in you. The Grinder PT is a mixture of the same exercises that SEAL recruits perform on a daily basis at the BUD/S training camp in Coronado, California. We are also throwing in a few CrossFit style drills, some exercises from SEALFit, Mountain Athlete, Gym Jones and a few others you may not have seen before.
SWAT Personal Training -- Ron Holland (former USAF) out of Tucson AZ, created an outdoor and indoor fitness business in 1991 after a career in the military and police department. He has a one week in-residence boot camp where they create a military indoctrination environment (0500am wakeup!) He has recruits run, PT, eat a well balanced and nutritious chow, and hike 2 -12 miles in the Tucson area desert. Also water skills, aerobics, yoga, stretching, and other anti-aging programs are taught in a teamwork/military style program. It is very informative and positive feedback and teamwork is highly encouraged.
SEAL Team PT -- Former Navy SEAL John McGuire has translated his experience into a one-of-a-kind, non-military fitness program, offering the dual benefit of world-class fitness and team-building to people of all ages and walks of life. Offered in the Richmond, Virginia area since 1998, SEAL Team PT has legions of satisfied, fit, and fulfilled graduates of all ages. To date, SEAL Team PT has graduated over 175 basic fitness classes, conducted more than 50 custom-tailored corporate team-building programs, and led more than 40 SEAL Teen and SEAL Pup classes for youth and children.
Semper Fidelis Health & Wellness (SFHW.ORG) is a community based 501(c) 3 nonprofit organization founded by US Marine Corps Veterans and a Holistic Health & Wellness Counselor in 2009. We provide holistic, and integrative health and wellness training and education to Wounded, Ill, and Injured service members and their caregivers within the active, reserve and veteran components.
StewSmith.com -- My website/fitness business has evolved since 1998 when I resigned from the Navy. At first I had a fitness business with as many as 40-50 hours of group PT and personal training a week. Now, after writing everything down for years, I created programs that have helped thousands prepare for military, special forces, and law enforcement physical fitness tests. I still do some online training and local group training in the Baltimore/Annapolis MD area, but my group workouts during the week and weekend are free to those who want to join me on my swims, runs, PT etc. Once on month, we test with a variety of PFTs and we also do quarterly Spec Ops Triathlons - Run, Swim, Ruck. These workouts now give me ideas which to write as I see issues, troubles, and ways around personal obstacles with a variety of students. I figure if I am going to write about training - I need to train.
VO2MAXUSA.com - With 24 years of fitness programming experience, Kevin Hite of VO2MAX,LLC is uniquely qualified to serve his community's preventive health care needs. A former US Navy search and rescue swimmer with a B.S. in Health and Wellness (The Citadel, 1990) and member of The American College of Sports Medicine, Kevin offers health risk appraisals, fitness assessments, personal training and 24/7 gym membership from his studio in Chapin, SC. 803.422.8584.
Products Invented by Vets - SEALS / SF Specifically:
The TRX - Fitness in a Bag! Former SEAL Randy Hetrick has created another device that is easy to carry and so versatile I still cannot name all the exercises you can do with this thing. My latest count is over 200 exercises. In an article, I compared his TRX to a Universal Weight Machine and for a 1/10 of the price it easy outperforms the machine tenfold! This is great for travelers as the straps are easy to pack and unfold in seconds. See some of the videos on his site.
The Perfect Pushup and Pullup - My former SEAL buddy Alden Mills has created awesome fitness products that capture the most beloved and most hated exercises we do in the SEAL Teams and at BUD/S. The rotational motion of his products challenge the best pull-up and pushup performers. In fact, his products cut my reps in half and after a few years of using the Perfect Pushup, they still work like new and continue to make my pushups tougher. For $39.95 you cannot beat the price for a fitness product that you will actually use several times a week. Supplemented with some weights, the Perfect Pushup and Pull-up are great additions to a home weight room.
The Fit Deck - Former SEAL Phil Black is probably the real genius of the bunch to take an idea and turn it into a successful business. When on a deployment or just bored, the SEALs as well as other military groups, do a workout with a deck of cards. Usually it required some imagination: face cards = 10 pushups, aces = 25 pushups / 25 abs, jokers = 50 reps of anything...BUT what Fit Deck does for you is take out the mystery and when you shuffle the deck and start to flip the cards you get told what you need to do. Now he has Pull-up Decks, Kettlebell Decks, Navy SEAL Decks, Navy SEAL Audio Series on Acing BUDS, Combat Sports Decks and so many more - even some for kids.
Surviving BUD/S
Refactor Tactical - Army SF veterans create tactical gear that works. Designed by the operator for the operator. Check out the gear list and training videos. Anything from bags, caps, survival bands, medical gear, fun t-shirts and more - you can find it on their store and talk with other operators on their blog.
Any of these make great gifts for your fitness guru in the family or those seeking a profession that requires some form of fitness test.
After a brief discussion with the veteran trainers, we all agreed upon a few things. We focus on teaching on a basic level of fitness, habit building, and just adding basic fitness as stretching, walking/running, light PT, and drinking water to people’s lives. Let them see and feel the progress they are making. Take them as they advance and PT them harder, but you have to give them a plan that works.
The plan I have here works...it will help people lose up to 25lbs if they just following the simple directions:
1- Stretch Daily! This is very important if beginning a fitness plan. See Stretch article.
2 - Drink more water -- up to a gallon a day
3 - Do something everyday for 45 days straight -- even if that is just walk after dinner.
This FREE 45 day plan shows you how.
4 - Repeat above -- do not worry about food intake yet, but if no results are seen in 3-4 weeks then focus on a food plan as mentioned in plan above.
Look up one of the above veterans and try a boot camp workout program this year. If you know of another veteran operated fitness business that is not listed, please send the website address/contact information and I will place it in an updated article archive so I have close to a comprehensive list. Please email me at Stew@stewsmith.com with your questions.